Having inherited a squad that was a mash-up of [Moyes,](https://www.claretandhugh.info/west-ham-set-to-pass-on-moyes-favourite-former-hammer-looking-for-a-new-club/) Lopetegui, Potter, Steidten and Sullivan’s ‘picks’ over the preceding two years, Nuno Espírito Santo has had his first – _and what could be his only_ – transfer window at the helm of West Ham United to try and ‘rebalance’ the squad ahead of the final fourteen games.
With the Hammers sitting in eighteenth spot, the odds aren’t looking good that the Portuguese coach can close the six point gap between the Irons and nearest rivals Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.
And the price for failure will be high indeed. From revelations made to day in the [New York Times,](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7017774/2026/02/03/west-ham-nuno-espirito-santo-compensation/) Nuno could face an ignominious end if he fails to keep the Hammers in the Premier League:
_…West Ham gave Nuno a three-year contract when he succeeded Graham Potter as head coach, but a clause in his deal means that the 52-year-old would not receive a pay-off should he be jettisoned if the club suffer demotion to the second tier, according to sources briefed on the matter”._
Reportedly earning something in the region of £4.5 million a year, that relegation if it happens could lead to Nuno being fired – without the £9 million compensation still owed on his contract.
Little wonder the head coach looks pensive and occasionally haunted in the dugout. Bad enough having a ‘relegation’ on your CV, let alone being fired without that life-changing amount of money (to you and me anyway) being due as a consequence.
On the other hand, there’s going to be no shortage of motivation on the manager’s part to keep the Hammers in the top tier. Shame the same doesn’t apply to the players’ contracts. That’d make them get their fingers out.